My 500$ wonder (July 25th, MBC and 42#injectors )

[Armond]

I cant go to Pick and pull this week. Have to stay here with the wifey.

[Pinepig]

I haven't updated lately....well because I have just been driving it.

I sold my Corrado so I have some extra money ( about 5k ) laying around ( don't tell the wife shhhh )

Today I shortened my front struts by about 2 1/4 inches and put some rabbit inserts in. While I was at it I was able to use the 8" long springs that came with my 10$ ebay coil over kit. They had the exact same spring diameter and I like the ride even better now ( a hair softer ), not quite so damn stiff, as a bonus I went looking for potholes and can now report that no matter what I hit the front struts no longer bottom. I'm glad I got that fixed before I wasted the nice bilstiens that were in there.

I also just about have all the parts for my 5 speed swap that I hope to do next weekend, thank god, driving on the freeway is a pain with the 4 speed.

I also got my Inovate wide band today so I'll wire that up in the car tomorrow.

Plans to come soon, FAST. I have a good block, crank, rods. Need to send the block off for some machine work and then order some parts. Plans are 8-1 JE forged goodness with a mildly ported 318 head. I picked up a Holset HX30w on Ebay the other day, I'll need to make a exaust mani ( planning on a simple log style ) and some other goods a boost the crap out of it. I'll run the motor NA for a few weeks to break it in and then do the turbo setup.

I'll take some pics along the way for you guys.

Time for the next evolution :-)

[Pinepig]

Today I can count to 5, yep 5 gears.

One of the best things I've done to the car so far ( drive ability )

I used IEs driveshaft and rear mount, both worked well.

2002haus provided the seal kit, throwout bearing and speedo cable.

Aardvark provided the shifter assembly, I highly recommend the 320 style shifter they base it off of, thing shifts like butter with no slop at all.

Total time from roll in to roll out was 7 hours with a nice long lunch and lots of fooling around. I had the shifter assembly ready to go before hand and that saved a bit of time.

Things I did not enjoy, pressing the tranny up above my head three times, ( I should have used the damn cherry picker tranny plate that I made ) The slave pushrod got cocked sideways when I went to put it in for good and no amount of jiggling was gonna do it. The throw out bearing was just not gonna move in and it had to come back out. The tranny didn't seem that heavy at first but by the third time it was kicking my ass.

Some other goodies, I received a pair of euro front turns from Blunt ( my pusherman ) Always provides good prices and get''s here promptly. I can say that about everybody I used for parts this time. Nice company's to deal with.

Well I guess I'm going to have to get started on the motor and bay now, don't have anything left except for new carpet and some 320 recaros but those can wait until after I'm done being a greasy bastard while working on it.

[djkindt]

Very nice work. I'm really enjoying this project blog. A true inspiration for us do-it-yourselfers.

Was it a pretty simple procedure to modify the strut inserts to accept the coilovers? Thinking about doing this myself, instead of paying a bunch of money (that I don't have) for "real" springs.

Thanks!

Dylan

[Pinepig]

Modifying the strut was really no big deal as far as the cut and getting them lined up again. The weld however is critical, if you don't think you can lay down a beautiful bead at least take it to a welder that can.

Some folks will take the piece that was cut out, split it like a clamshell and weld it back over the weld that you made, absoulutely a good call if you have any questions about the welder or your capabilities.

Another observation I made was by cutting the strut 2 1/4 ( the idea was to get closer to splitting the difference of the 5 shorter strut ) made it so the threaded part of the coilover is now right where the tire bulge is, so I had to run a 1/4 inch spacer up front for clearance. It's about 1/2 into the tire bulge so you would have to go at least 1/2 inch shorter on the strut cut ( 1 3/4 inch ) to fix that but you will lose downward suspension travel if you choose to do that. Obviously the spacer under the strut would have to be longer to compensate.

[djkindt]

Hey thanks for the tips.

I'm not a professional welder by any means, but I can run a clean bead and do it consistently. I think I'll tackle this.

So you used rabbit strut inserts? Are they just naturally shorter so you could use stock ones? Also, are there certain coilovers that work better or are they all pretty much the same (ie: Honda Accord vs Other cars)

Honestly, I'm not a great driver. I'd love to take some driving classes to learn how to drive on a track, but for now, this will mostly be for aesthetic purposes and street driving. So losing a little shock travel may not be so bad.

Thanks again!

Dylan

[Pinepig]

Hey thanks for the tips.

I'm not a professional welder by any means, but I can run a clean bead and do it consistently. I think I'll tackle this.

So you used rabbit strut inserts? Are they just naturally shorter so you could use stock ones? Also, are there certain coilovers that work better or are they all pretty much the same (ie: Honda Accord vs Other cars)

Honestly, I'm not a great driver. I'd love to take some driving classes to learn how to drive on a track, but for now, this will mostly be for aesthetic purposes and street driving. So losing a little shock travel may not be so bad.

Thanks again!

Dylan

Yes rabbit struts are naturally shorter, a stock set will not work very well for any sort of high spring rate, you'd have one bouncy mofo on your hands.

As far as the coilovers, Ground Control makes specific ones for the 2002 ( as does Ireland Eng ) If you chose to go the Ebay cheapie route, you may get what you want and you may not, thankfully good springs can be had for about 50$ per spring so you CAN get any rate you want and just use the threaded collar the adjusting collars and the hats from the Ebay stuff and still save some cash.

On a side note I put the tap a lights in my Euro front turns ( damn you pusherman ) and wired up my HID kit today. A pic since I took the RMs apart yesterday, stripped and polished the lips, they look soooo much better.

I've been helping my lame ass bro ( you know the kind of guy that has to do everything three times ) swap an ABA into his Rabbit all weekend and haven't had a chance to work on my motor at all, I hope to get started on it this next week.

[cj]

Look'in good Charlie Mac. Can't wait to see it at the next Eurofest.

Cris

[djkindt]

I've been helping my lame ass bro ( you know the kind of guy that has to do everything three times ) swap an ABA into his Rabbit all weekend and haven't had a chance to work on my motor at all, I hope to get started on it this next week.

I originally planned on selling the car that I traded to get my 02. I was going to buy a rabbit to swap a G60 motor and 5-speed that I already have. I was really excited about the project. This opportunity came up and I couldn't say no. I still really want a rabbit though.

Thanks for all the help!

Dylan

[Pinepig]

The deuce is a much better car than a rabbit.

[eggie]

Sup Charlie,

Haven't stepped in and checked on your car in a few. Looks good. When do you plan on doing the turbo?

Michael

[Pinepig]

I should have it done in about two months if everything lines up right.

Rub Shannon's belly for me.

[eggie]

Just like budda!

Let me know when you get it done, we might be making another run up there before she pops... Maybe.

If anything, maybe after.

[Greengerms]

I got a chance to see this car up close. It is tight! Very clean look. Subtle two tone paint job is dope.

[Armond]

Charlie,

How did you mount the 6-1/2 speakers up front? What spacers did you use and did you cut a bigger hole to the panel? Thanks

Armond